Introduction Status epilepticus (SE) is a life-threatening neurological emergency. SE lasting longer than 120 min and not responding to first-line and second-line antiepileptic drugs is defined as 'refractory' (RCSE) and requires intensive care unit treatment. There is currently neither evidence nor consensus to guide either the optimal choice of therapy or treatment goals for RCSE, which is generally treated with coma induction using conventional anaesthetics (high dose midazolam, thiopental and/or propofol). Increasing evidence indicates that ketamine (KE), a strong N-methyl-d-aspartate glutamate receptor antagonist, may be effective in treating RCSE. We hypothesised that intravenous KE is more efficacious and safer than conventional anaesthetics in treating RCSE. Methods and analysis A multicentre, randomised, controlled, open-label, non-profit, sequentially designed study will be conducted to assess the efficacy of KE compared with conventional anaesthetics in the treatment of RCSE in children. 10 Italian centres/hospitals are involved in enrolling 57 patients aged 1 month to 18 years with RCSE. Primary outcome is the resolution of SE up to 24 hours after withdrawal of therapy and is updated for each patient treated according to the sequential method. Ethics and dissemination The study received ethical approval from the Tuscan Paediatric Ethics Committee (12/2015). The results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences. Trial registration number NCT02431663; Pre-results.


Al-substituted Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) pellets with a grain size of 100–200 μm and a relative density of 94% were prepared by conventional solid-state processing at a sintering temperature of 1100 °C, 130 °C lower than previously reported. Morphological features and the presence of impurities were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Femtosecond Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) was used to visualize the distribution of impurities. The results suggest that chemical composition of the powder cover strongly affects morphology and impurity formation, and that particle size control is critical to densification. These properties, in turn, strongly affect total ionic conductivity and interfacial resistance of the sintered pellets.


Infectious bovine keeratoconjuctivitis (IBK) is the most important ocular disease of cattle. Prevention and control of the disease can prove challengin, and the list of potential etiologic agens has expanded in recent years. Little has been recently published characterizing IBK outbreaks at the herd level. This case series investigation was conducted to describe the disease characteristics and management practices in herds affected by IBK outbreaks in 1 practice area in West Virginia in 2019. Seven producers were interviewed: 6 cow-calf producers and 1 stocker producer. Prdocuers were asked questions pertaining to disease severity and management, such as herd health protocols and husbandry. In addition, organisms from each of the  herds were identified by culture and/or PCR. Results revealed a range of disease incidence as well as similarities and differences in management practices among herds. The interpretability of results is limted due to small sample size and data colelction method; however, results suggest that some herds in the area where producers were interviewed experienced severe IBK outbreaks, and that some management practices relevant to IBK were similar between herds. Results also suggest that further study to identify poorly characterized IBK risk factors is warrented.


Spatial modulation (SM) is a low complexity, highly spectral efficient multiple-input–multiple-output scheme that has been proposed in the literature. The authors apply adaptive modulation to conventional SM in order to maximise the average throughput of the scheme. For this to be possible, the equivalent received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) needs to be defined and is done so via two proposed approaches: using the first-order statistics SNR and using the average statistics SNR. Average theoretical bit-error-rate (BER) bounds are derived for both of these SNR approaches. Also, adaptive M-ary quadrature amplitude spatial modulation switching levels are determined to maximise the throughput while meeting the average target BER. The Monte Carlo simulation results successfully validate the derived theoretical BER bounds and also prove that the average throughput is improved in comparison to conventional SM. The two proposed definitions for the equivalent received SNR are confirmed to yield comparable BER and throughput performances via simulations, implying that the equivalent received SNR can be defined using either approach.


Sustainable development (SD) integrates growth with contextual systems such as environmental, social and economic, and with the elements and dynamics that characterise them. SD depends on an education for sustainability (EFS) that includes a focus on maintaining growth that promotes successful systems management and that pursues responsible planning and design of system elements (cities, buildings and landscapes) in ways that sustain a positive ecobalance. This paper reviews an EFS initiative and partnering framework, The US-Brazil Sustainability Consortium (USBSC), which integrates local and global knowledge to understand place-based systems, resource flows and ecobalance. The USBSC is a student mobility consortium funded by the US and Brazilian departments of education. It promotes the international exchange of students in architecture, engineering and civil building, landscape architecture, urban planning and natural resources and environmental management. It educates these students about the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability, environmental responsibility, social justice and economic vitality.


Background Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas infections remain highly prevalent with annual WHO estimates of 106, 107 and 276 million cases respectively. Screening for all 3 infections in a single assay could improve control efforts. Aim This study assessed the performance of the BD MAX™ CT/GC/TV (BD MAX) for detection of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas DNA compared to routine diagnostic methods. Methods Urine, patient-collected vaginal and endocervical specimens were obtained from 1854 women. BD MAX assay results were compared to TV culture (InPouch), TV wet mount, Aptima AC2 and TV assays and the BD Viper™ CTQx/GCQx assays. Results Prevalence for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas was 7.3, 2.3 and 14.7%, respectively. Sensitivity estimates ranged from 92.2–99.2, 94.9–95.1 and 92.9–96.1 for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas, respectively. Specificity estimates for each test were ≥98.6. Of the 128 out of 1758 (7.3%) women with chlamydia infections, concomitant gonococcal and trichomonal infections were present in 11.7 and 12.5%, respectively. The sensitivity of the assay for chlamydia when co-infections were present ranged from 92.6–96.1%. Similarly the sensitivity of the gonorrhoea and trichomonas detection was not affected by the presence of concomitant chlamydial infections with estimates ranging from 93.8–100% and 89.5–100%, respectively. Discussion The performance of the BD MAX assay was similar to that of other molecular diagnostic assays. A substantial proportion of women with chlamydia are co-infected with gonorrhoea and/or trichomonas. Trichomonas was more prevalent than chlamydia and gonorrhoea combined. Detection of all three infections in a single assay may improve identification and treatment of these STI.


Rice is an important staple food crop that feeds over half of the global population and it has become the cereal that provides a major source of calories for the urban and rural poor in Africa. This research aimed to use simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to evaluate the genetic diversity in rice (Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima) germplasm as breeding method. In the present study, 16 SSR markers were used across 48 genotypes or accessions obtained from Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), Suakoko, Liberia and Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute (PGRRI), Bunso, Ghana. DNA was extracted from 48 plants per accession without bulking to check the purity of the accession using the 16 SSR markers. Sixteen primers were acquired out of 20 primers which showed DNA amplification and polymorphism among the 48 rice accessions. The numbers of alleles detected by these 16 primers ranged from 1 to 16 with a mean of 5.25, while polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.06 to 0.66 with a mean of 0.35. The SSR markers were highly informative as generated by the power marker V3.25 software. The unweight pair group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster dendrogram generated based on the 16 SSR markers grouped the accessions into 11 main clusters. At the similarity coefficients of 90%, the highly distance genetic diversity was found between 2 accessions; ACSS37 and ACSS1. Cluster X was the largest of all the clusters, while clusters VII and VIII were the second largest clusters with 7 accessions each. The outcome of this study should be useful to manage the gremplasm conservation and future rice genetic improvement.

 Key words: Germplasm, genetic diversity, molecular markers, polymorphism, sequence repeat.


Cerebral ischemia induced by unilateral carotid occlusion in rats decreases in an asymmetric manner the number of beta-adrenergic receptors in microvessels prepared from cerebral cortexes ipsilateral and contralateral to the side of the ligature. In particular, the reduction is more pronounced in the left hemisphere in case of both right and left carotid ligature. The greater receptor decrease in the left side of the brain was shown to depend on the integrity of interhemispheric connections. We show that the changes in capillary beta-adrenergic receptors in response to unilateral carotid occlusion are qualitatively modified during aging. In particular, the asymmetry in the response pattern observed in young rats is lost. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon may be based on an age-related impairment in the transfer of neuronal information between the two sides of the brain.


Migration during childhood has a negative impact on educational outcomes. As a result, migrant youths enter the labour market with lower educational assets and experience obstacles and delayed transitions. Even so, little is known about later labour-market outcomes of youth who migrated to Switzerland during childhood and attended post-compulsory education there. Are there differences with respect to the labour-market outcomes for these young adults, and do these differences persist once we account for educational attainment and other relevant characteristics? For a longitudinal analysis of these research questions, we draw on panel data of the first TREE (Transitions from Education to Employment) co-hort. With reference to descriptives of their educational and labour market situation, we propose a number of explanatory models to predict the effect of migration characteristics while controlling for relevant characteristics including educational attainment. We consider the effect of three variables related to migration: respondents' country of birth, respondents' nationality and parental country of birth. Our results show that, in a longitudinal perspective, those who migrated during childhood experience higher risk of unemployment, are to be found in lower occupational positions and have lower incomes than native youths. While some differences can be explained by the lower level of education of those born abroad, this is not the case for other differences such as income differentials. Moreover, some effects vary by type of migration characteristics (respondent's country of birth, parental country of birth and respondent's nationality) or appear only in a longitudinal perspective, thereby underlining the necessity of framing migration multidimensionally and relying on panel data.


- Electrically powered wheelchair has basically two features, one is mechanical based movement system, and another is electrical drive to ease maneuvering rather than manually driven by assistant. In smart wheelchairs, third feature is added that would further simplify driving of powered wheelchair by conventional methods. In the recent years, IoT (Internet-of-Things) are dramatically changing the lifestyle of people which are being used not only for entertainment but also for actuating external devices as per their requirements. Smart phones are almost commonly being used by many people since they are affordable and are being added with multiple features like camera, video games, messaging, navigation facility and many more. We have previously developed a mobile phone application software to control the movement of an electrically powered wheelchair, thus making it as a smart wheelchair. In this paper, we reported the performance evaluation of the wheelchair control through the mobile app. A reference trajectory path was marked on the floor area and a route map was prepared on the Google Maps browser in the smart phone. The user of the wheelchair navigated its movement between source and destination points on the map to follow the reference track. The motion of wheelchair and the track was captured in a video clip. Then, by image processing technique, the wheelchair movement was tracked. It has been observed that during perpendicular turnings like corners inside the buildings or turnings on roads, there were slight deviations of the wheelchair with respect to the reference path. However, this can be minimized by proper training to the person using the smart wheelchair.


Background: Lean has had a great influence on how companies work today, and both academics and practitioners have admitted its link with superior performance and the ability to create competitive advantage. There is however a widespread confusion of what lean really is and the absence of a clear definition has been highlighted by many researchers within the field. Since the birth of lean, a lot of focus has been on the internal perspective of the concept. Although today with an increased globalization, higher customer demands and a severe competition, the work with lean between companies becomes highly appropriate. Within companies, the processes often work effectively, but it is in the interfaces between companies where a lot of waste and possibilities to improvement exist. Aim: The purpose is to analyse the companies' consciousness of lean and to what extent their understanding of lean can influence the effectiveness of the entire value stream. Furthermore, the purpose is to analyse how this consciousness affects the collaboration between a customer and a supplier. Method: The study has a deductive approach where the starting point has been in the theories within lean, supplier partnership and effectiveness. A multiple case study has been conducted where five different interfaces have been studied. The study has a qualitative approach where the empirical findings come from ten semi-structured interviews. Result: Our study shows that working with lean interorganisationally helps to create a higher performing value chain. For companies working with lean internally, it is also natural working with lean with the partners. From a lean perspective, effectiveness is defined as a reduction of cost through elimination of waste. By performing VSM, having regular evaluating meetings, sharing forecasts and giving each other insight in inventories, a lot of waste in the interfaces can be reduced. However, to have a well working collaboration, the study shows that a high level of trust and a common view and attitude towards collaboration are necessary.


Four different dyes (Methyl red, Disperse red 1, 13 and 60) were separately doped to each of four different nematic liquid crystals (E7, E8, E63 and ZLI-1132). Their solubilities, textures, phase transition temperatures and order parameters were determined. At the second stage, single-walled nanotubes in a small amount were separately added to each of these solutions, and the experiments were repeated as similar to previous ones. The solubility of dyes was sufficient for using in experiments. When adding dyes and nanotubes, an appreciable change in textures of liquid crystals was not observed. The phase transition temperatures stayed within the limitations required. The changes observed in order parameters depending on the voltage were very small. The highest value of order parameter (0.77) was attained when co-using red 60 dye and nanotube as dopants in the liquid crystal E63.


A low-cost test method is proposed for testing integrated radio-frequency (RF) substrates with embedded RF passive filters. The proposed method enables the testing of embedded high-frequency gigahertz filters by the analysis of low-frequency signal of the order of 100 MHz. In addition, the test method allows the testing without injecting external test stimulus into RF filters. Hence, significant reduction in the test cost is achieved by the proposed test method. As compared to the conventional test method which uses vector network analyzer (VNA), the proposed method reduces the test-setup cost by around 75%. The proposed test method relies on three core principles. First, the RF filter is made a part of the feedback network of an external RF amplifier circuit located on the probe card, thereby causing the amplifier to oscillate. Second, the output spectrum of the amplifier (GHz) is down-converted to a lower frequency (MHz) to facilitate test response measurement. Third, RF (GHz) specifications of the filters are predicted by the analysis of the low-frequency (MHz) test-setup output. Both parametric and catastrophic failures in the embedded high-frequency (GHz) passive filter can be detected at low-frequency (MHz) by monitoring the change in the oscillation frequency of the proposed test setup. The test method is demonstrated with both simulations and measurements.


This study investigated the effect of writing process in Google Docs environment on Iranian EFL learners' writing performance. It also examined students' perceptions towards the effects of Google Docs and their perceived causes of success or failure in writing performance. In this regard, 48 EFL students were chosen based on their IELTs writing test scores. During the treatment, the students were taught how to write a formal five-paragraph essay in the class, but they were supposed to practice writing process and give feedback to their peers' essays through Google Docs. At the end of the treatment phase, the participants received another sample of IELTs writing test (posttest). Moreover, 20 participants were interviewed for their perceptions regarding the causes for their success and failure and the influence of Google Docs on their writing performance. The analysis of a Paired-Sample t-test revealed that Google Docs played an effective role in improving students' writing performance. In addition, the analysis of interview revealed that the students perceived both internal and external causes for their success and failure; but in case of failure, internal factors were cited more often than external ones. Also, it was revealed that students generally showed positive attitude towards the implication of Google Docs as a factor leading to success in their writing performance.


At 2582.6 m in length, Melbourne's West Gate Bridge is the second longest bridge in Australia. Completed in 1978, the bridge comprises a cable-stayed steel box girder, with two end concrete sections of similar design. Due to Melbourne's rapidly growing traffic demand, an increase in the capacity of the bridge was necessary. The winning proposal was to augment the number of traffic lanes by one each way, increasing the total from eight to ten. This additional torsional loading on the bridge added, required large areas of the pre-cast concrete sections to be retrofitted with externally bonded, carbon fibre (Fibre Reinforced Polymer, FRP) strengthening. Whilst ultimately being the largest FRP project in the world, clever early design, detailing and planning decisions, resulted in a number of innovations, which ultimately delivered major savings to the project. This paper highlights the case study of the West Gate Bridge and discusses some of the issues related to optimized design solutions and latest research on anchorage details. It also explores application topics including preparation techniques, environmental conditions and quality assurance issues, dealing with high strength concrete elements, strengthened with FRP systems.


The possible adverse impact of environmental chemical exposure on semen quality is a public health concern. However, an epidemiological study targeting the general population is not easy. An alternative approach is to study workers exposed to higher doses of the concerned chemicals, whereas there have been only a very limited number of such studies conducted in Japan to date. This review, on the basis of the author's experience thus far, attempts to shed light on considerations when planning possible semen studies in workplaces in Japan. They include study design, informed consent of both the employer and participating employees, means of increasing participation ratio, control of nonexposure factors such as abstinence period and medical history, standardization in measuring semen indices, interpretation of study results, and necessary precautions when reporting a low semen quality in the exposed population.


Rupture of an intracranial aneurysm (subarachnoid hemorrhage) is a potentially devastating condition frequently complicated by delayed cerebral ischemia from sustained contraction of intracranial arteries (cerebral vasospasm). There is mounting evidence linking the formation of intracranial aneurysms and the pathogenesis of post-subarachnoid hemorrhage vasospasm to aberrant bioavailability and action of the vasodilator molecule nitric oxide generated by isoforms of nitric oxide synthase. In humans, the gene encoding the endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is known to be polymorphic, with certain polymorphisms associated with increased cardiovascular disease susceptibility. In this prospective clinical study involving 141 participants, we used gene microarray technology to demonstrate that the eNOS gene intron-4 27-base pair variable number tandem repeat polymorphism (eNOS 27 VNTR) predicts susceptibility to intracranial aneurysm rupture, while the eNOS gene promoter T-786C single nucleotide polymorphism (eNOS T-786C SNP) predicts susceptibility to post-subarachnoid hemorrhage vasospasm. We believe that genetic information such as this, which can be obtained expeditiously at the time of diagnosis, may be used as a helpful adjunct to other clinical information aimed at predicting and favorably modifying the clinical course of persons with intracranial aneurysms.


Over the years, adenocarcinoma (ADC), which has a worse prognosis than squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the cervix, has shown an increasing trend. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) expression which has been associated with worse prognosis in several solid cancers was studied for its association with SCC and ADC of the cervix. 35 histologically re-confirmed SCC and 35 ADC were immunohistochemically stained for COX2 using a mouse monoclonal antibody to COX2 (1:100; Dako: Clone CX-294) on a Ventana Benchmark XT. The histoscore was computed as intensity of staining, semi-quantitated on a scale of 0-3 with 0 = negative, 1 = weak, 2 = moderate and 3 = strong staining intensity; multiplied by percentage of immunopositivity on a scale of 0-4 with 0 = <1%, 1 = 1-25%, 2 = 26-50%, 3 = 51-75% and 4 = ≥75% of immunopositive tumour cells. Histoscore 1-3/12 was considered as low and ≥4/12 as high COX2 expression. SCC affected Chinese more than Malays, while Malays had more ADC (p = 0.032). Mean age at presentation of SCC (57.5 years) was about a decade later than ADC at 47.9 years (p = 0.002). 30/35 (85.7%) of SCC and 34/35 (97.1%) of ADC expressed COX2. Histoscores of ADC (median = 4.0, IQR = 3.0-6.0) was significantly higher (p = 0.014) than those of SCC (median = 3.0, IQR = 2.0-3.0). High histoscores (≥4/12) were more frequent in ADC (55.9%) compared with SCC (26.7%) (p = 0.018), implicating COX2, either directly or indirectly, as a possible player in influencing the poorer outcome of ADC compared with SCC.


Abstract In production agriculture, good management is demonstrated by profits that are persistently greater than those of similar neighboring farms. This research examined the effects of management practices on risk-adjusted profit per acre for Kansas farms over 1990-1999. The management practices were price, cost, yield, planting intensity, and technology adoption (less-tillage). Cost management, planting intensity, and technology adoption had the greatest effect on profit per acre, and cash price management was found to have the smallest impact. If producers wish to have continuously high profits, their efforts are best spent in management practices over which they have the most control.


From Purpose and Scope of Report: This report presents a detailed description of the ore deposits of the Picher field and all phases of geology having a bearing on their localization, origin, and the search for them. It is based mainly on work done by the
U.S. Geological Survey, but it also incorporates pertinent data from published literature, especially from the outstanding work of George M. Fowler and associates, and some unpublished data obtained from the geologic staffs of the mining companies.


Economists have assumed that the Phillips curve, which shows a positive (negative) relation between inflation and the output ratio (unemployment rate), may be mapped off the aggregate demand -aggregate supply apparatus. The paper shows that the Phillips curve requires that unlikely restrictions be put on the form of the aggregate supply and aggregate demand curves. In this case, it is inappropriate to treat data on inflation and capacity utilization as the basis for estimating an underlying formal model. The paper therefore uses a nonparametric, data-driven method to describe the data. This method, of kernel regression, shows the inflation-unemployment association in Phillips's sample to be negative on a global scale, yet irregular within particular ranges of unemployment.


In this thesis, the candidate studies the effects of externally applied fields on spin and charge transport in two dimensional systems strongly coupled to light. On one hand, the influence of a strong monochromatic laser field on charge conductivity and spin relaxation in a two dimensional electron gas and graphene is investigated. On the other hand, the spin dynamics of microcavity exciton-polaritons is simulated under a magnetic field applied normally to the cavity plane and spin-orbit interaction as well. In both cases, the externally applied fields are shown to substantially change the transport properties. For the work on the two dimensional electron gas and graphene, standard approaches such as the Boltzmann transport equation and Kubo formalism were employed. The polariton spin polarization patterns were calculated using the previously developed pseudospin formalism and a coherent Schrödinger type equation accounting for pump and decay. Skender Morina


OBJECTIVE
To describe prognosis in patients with unilateral neglect, anosognosia, or both, within a community based stroke cohort.

METHODS
Patients (n = 377) were evaluated at baseline for the presence of neglect and anosognosia. After 1 year, the level of disability was established in survivors. Predictors for death and dependency were examined in multivariate analysis. The following independent variables were used: age, consciousness, hemianopia, arm paresis, leg paresis, sensory disturbance, aphasia, neglect, anosognosia, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, pre- and post-stroke cognitive impairment.

RESULTS
Age, consciousness and sensory disturbance predicted death. Post-stroke cognitive impairment, neglect, hemianopia, arm paresis and age predicted dependency.

CONCLUSION
Neglect in the acute phase, which occurs in patients irrespective of pre-stroke cognitive level, negatively affects disability after 1 year. Anosognosia more often occurs in patients who are cognitively impaired before the stroke. These patients often are ADL-dependent already, or become dependent because of cognitive impairment, not because of anosognosia.


Introduction:
 Vitamin D, a neurosteroid present in cerebrospinal fluid and metabolized by brain tissue regulates calcium signaling and scavenging of reactive oxygen species, which play a role in acute cell injury after ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Low vitamin D (measured as 25(OH)D), has been found to increase the risk of ischemic stroke, predict severity and poor functional outcome. No studies investigating impact of vitamin D level on ICH stroke severity exist.

 Hypothesis:
 We hypothesize that low 25(OH)D levels are associated with higher stroke severity of ICH on admission and poorer functional outcome.

 Methods:
 A single-center retrospective chart review between February 2012 and September 2014 was performed. A total of 109 patients with primary ICH and 25(OH)D levels on admission were identified. Serum 25(OH)D levels were dichotomized at <30 ng/ml as Vitamin D deficient and <10 ng/ml as severely deficient. Dichotomized 25(OH)D groups were compared for continuous outcome variables using non-parametric Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Severity measures including dichotomized NIHSS (>20 or <20) and dichotomized Glasgow coma scale (GCS of 3-5, 6-15) were compared to vitamin D groups using Pearson Chi-square test of proportion.

 Results:
 NIHSS on admission was higher in patients with severe vitamin D deficiency (p=0.016) with the odds ratio of having an NIHSS of >20 on admission 5.9 (95% CI --1.4-25.5). Patients with severe deficiency were far more likely to have very low GCS (3-5) (p=0.022; OR=8.8; 95% CI 1.7 - 45.5). Vitamin D deficiency was associated with lower pre-albumin level and older age (p=0.021 and 0.018, respectively). No statistical significance between 25(OH)D level and ICH score, ICH volume, location, presence of intraventricular hemorrhage, length of stay, mortality, disposition or pre-stroke and discharge modified Rankin Scale was found.

 Conclusions:
 ICH patients with severe vitamin D deficiency had significantly worse stroke severity. Patients with older age and malnutrition are at higher risk for severe clinical presentation of ICH. Larger scale studies identifying increased risk of morbidity and mortality from ICH in vitamin D deficient patients are needed.


We derive multiplicative updates for solving the nonnegative quadratic programming problem in support vector machines (SVMs). The updates have a simple closed form, and we prove that they converge monotonically to the solution of the maximum margin hyperplane. The updates optimize the traditionally proposed objective function for SVMs. They do not involve any heuristics such as choosing a learning rate or deciding which variables to update at each iteration. They can be used to adjust all the quadratic programming variables in parallel with a guarantee of improvement at each iteration. We analyze the asymptotic convergence of the updates and show that the coefficients of non-support vectors decay geometrically to zero at a rate that depends on their margins. In practice, the updates converge very rapidly to good classifiers.


The receptor for transferrin (Tf), otherwise known as transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1 or CD71), is a single pass type two transmembrane protein ubiquitously expressed in most vertebrate cells. TfR1 is responsible for facilitating the import of iron into cells from transferrin bound iron in circulation. In cells, release of iron from Tf occurs near pH 5.5 and requires clathrin-mediated endocytosis of the Tf-TfR1 complex to acidified endosomes, followed by its recycling to the cell surface without dissociation. Since its discovery, high expression of TfR1 is typically associated with rapidly proliferating cells and a variety of tumor cell types. Because of its association with cancer, its cell surface accessibility, its facile entry into cells, and its critical role in the pathophysiology of cancer, TfR1 is an active target for anti-cancer therapies. Antibodies were the first vehicles designed to specifically target TfR1 with the aim of blocking Tf uptake into malignant cells and induce cytotoxicity. Based on a panel of thirty-two mouse monoclonal antibodies developed, in the late 1980s, to recognize the extracellular domain of human TfR1, several were identified that did not appear to block binding of the receptor to Tf. One of these antibodies, otherwise referred to as 128.1, inspired the generation of a chimeric antibody-avidin fusion protein (ch128.1Av). This molecule was originally designed to act as a delivery vehicle for biotinylated agents into cancer cells. However, this molecule possesses a significant intrinsic anti-proliferative/pro-apoptotic activity against malignant B cells expressing TfR1, as did its parental chimeric antibody (ch128.1) although to a lesser extent. The detailed nature of the interactions of these antibodies (based on the murine monoclonal 128.1) with TfR1 is addressed in part by this thesis. The experiments presented in this thesis are those from two published articles addressing the nature of the interactions between ch128.1 or ch128.1Av and TfR1, and the effects of these interactions on malignant B cells expressing the receptor. Special emphasis is placed on how these antibodies affect the recycling of TfR1 in order to reduce Tf uptake and induce lethal iron deprivation in malignant hematopoietic cells, as well as the transcriptional response of affected cells to insult by these antibodies. While investigating the effect of a low pH (late endosome or lysosome like) environment on the stability of TfR1 in the presence of these antibodies, the unexpected observation was made of an intrinsic instability of TfR1 under these conditions. Thus, data that provide insights into the inducible proteolysis of the extracellular domain of TfR1 in a low pH environment (pH 3-5) are presented. These results show a distinct and consistent pattern of degradation of the TfR1 ectodomain selectively within this pH range, which is consistent with the enzymatic activity of a pH-dependent cysteine/serine protease.


The development of new products and how the process is organised and managed within the firm is a key area in management research due to the high failure rate of new products and the consequent waste of limited resources. Developing new products and being innovative requires companies to have deep understanding of the consumer, the market and the environment but most importantly to effectively apply this knowledge in the development of new products that meet consumer's expectations. This paper aims at developing an innovative framework to incorporate the 'voice of consumer' at early stages of the new product development (NPD) process. To that end, the paper will consider the practical implementation of the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in the development of new food products. QFD is considered as the most complete and comprehensive methodology for planning the goals of a stream of processes in order to align them with customer's requirements. QFD forces the design team to place customer needs in first place and ensures that this customer focus is kept through the NPD process. In doing so, QFD reduces two types of risks: first, the non- correspondence between product specifications and the wants of a predetermined target consumer group; and second, the risk that final products do not comply with product specifications. To date, QFD has been partially applied in the food area with only a handful of studies venturing in this research area.


Lysis of Escherichia coli induced by either D-cycloserine, moenomycin, or penicillin G was monitored by studying murein metabolism. The levels of the soluble murein precursor UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamyl-m-diaminopimelyl-D-alanyl- D-alanine (UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide) and the carrier-linked MurNAc-(pentapeptide)-pyrophosphoryl-undecaprenol as well as N-acetylglucosamine-beta-1,4-MurNAc-(pentapeptide)-pyrophosphoryl- undecaprenol varied in a specific way. In the presence of penicillin, which is known to interfere with the cross-linking of murein, the concentration of the lipid-linked precursors unexpectedly decreased before the onset of lysis, although the level of UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide remained normal. In the case of moenomycin, which specifically blocks the formation of the murein polysaccharide strands, the lipid-linked precursors as well as UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide accumulated as was expected. D-Cycloserine, which inhibits the biosynthesis of UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide, consequently caused a decrease in all three precursors. The muropeptide composition of the murein showed general changes such as an increase in the unusual DL-cross bridge between two neighboring meso-diaminopimelic acid residues and, as a result of uncontrolled DL- and DD-carboxypeptidase activity, an increase in tripeptidyl and a decrease in tetrapeptidyl and pentapeptidyl moieties. The average length of the glycan strands decreased. When the glycan strands were fractionated according to length, a dramatic increase in the amount of single disaccharide units was observed not only in the presence of penicillin but also in the presence of moenomycin. This result is explained by the action of an exo-muramidase, such as the lytic transglycosylases present in E. coli. It is proposed that antibiotic-induced bacteriolysis is the result of a zipperlike splitting of the murein net by exo-muramidases locally restricted to the equatorial zone of the cell.


The purposes of this article is to develop a cultural approach in higher education studies. It will be argued that the cultural approach is rooted mainly in two different intellectual starting points to analyze academic communities as cultural entities: studies of disciplinary cultures and institutional cultures. Notions of disciplines as cultural entities have been developed in Europe in relation to the "two cultures" topic and to issues developed in the sociology of knowledge. The institutional studies tradition is, in turn, rooted in the American intellectual tradition, where cultural concerns emerge from institutional level phenomena whether they concern students, faculty or higher education institutions. The article discusses the pros and cons of these traditions in order to find new avenues for future research. It will be argued that academic identity provides a seminal perspective for cultural studies in higher education.


This thesis considers whether the legal recognition of non-conjugal relationships in New Zealand should be improved; particularly by extending them the rights and responsibilities of marital and marriage-like (conjugal) relationships. For the purpose of this thesis, "non-conjugal" relationships are close, caring platonic relationships where people share their lives to a significant degree. Over the last decade, there has been a trend toward extending the legal consequences of marriage to non-conjugal relationships in countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States. At the same time, the distinction between conjugal and non-conjugal relationships has been destabilised, due to the de-emphasis of sexual intimacy as a criterion for recognising marriage-like relationships. This thesis considers whether the marriage model should be extended to include certain non-conjugal relationships in New Zealand, as it has been overseas. It is clear that non-conjugal relationships can exhibit many of the features associated with conjugal relationships, as demonstrated by the high profile Burden sisters' case in the United Kingdom. These include characteristics such as long-term cohabitation, caring, commitment and interdependency. However, non-conjugal relationships typically exhibit these features to a lesser degree, which means that they may have different needs and require different support from the state. Ultimately, this thesis recommends against extending the marriage model to non-conjugal relationships for a number of reasons, including that the marriage model does not appear to respond adequately to the needs or living arrangements of people in non-conjugal relationships. However, this thesis also suggests that non-conjugal relationships in New Zealand can benefit from legal recognition in some cases. Aside from human rights considerations, the state has an interest in promoting these relationships due to their contribution to social cohesion and informal caregiving. As such, this thesis recommends a new framework for recognising personal relationships that also allows for nonconjugal relationships in New Zealand to be supported and promoted by the law, where appropriate.


The routine pretransfusion red blood cell antibody detection test (PADT), performed at the authors' institution, consists of a three-phase, saline-antiglobulin technique (immediate spin, 30-minute incubation at 37 degrees C, IgG indirect antihuman globulin test [IAT]), and each phase is examined for hemolysis and agglutination. To determine if it would be safe to omit reading the 37 degrees C phase of the PADT, a 6-year retrospective review of records (February 1986 to February 1992) was undertaken. Of approximately 280,000 sera tested for unexpected red cell alloantibodies, 1480 (.53%) were reactive at only 37 degrees C. Of 1480 sera, 1313 contained alloantibodies of no or questionable significance (eg, anti-Le(a), anti-Leb, and anti-P1), 71 sera contained antibodies of undetermined specificity, and 10 sera were reactive because of rouleaux. Eighty-six serum samples from 53 different patients contained alloantibodies of potential significance (anti-K, anti-E, etc). These 86 sera represented approximately 2.2% of all reactive sera that contained potentially significant alloantibodies. Although most antibodies (approximately 94%) detected only at 37 degrees C were of no or questionable significance, the other 6% could have increased the risk of missing a potentially significant antibody from approximately 1 in every 4700 sera tested to 1 in every 1875 sera tested, had they not been detected. The authors suggest that the increased risk of an acute or delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction would be too high to justify a procedural change. Based on these data, the authors continue to read the 37 degrees C phase of the PADT for hemolysis and agglutination.


Parallel programming on loosely coupled distributed systems is becoming a viable approach with the rapid increase in network speeds and availability of large amounts of unused CPU capacity on individual workstations. Parallel programs are often written for a specific configuration of the distributed system such as the number of nodes, their relative speeds and their network connections. These programs perform poorly when there is a change in the configuration or when they are taken to a system other than what they are intended for. We propose a new paradigm which can express the scale of a program as a part of the program itself. The scale of the program is specified in an abstract manner for an arbitrary number of nodes, their relative speeds and their network connections. The runtime system uses this information to decide the actual scale of program on a given distributed system.


The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and predictive value of performance parameters measured by a new novel submaximal cycle protocol (also known as the Lamberts and Lambert submaximal cycle test (LSCT)), on peak power and endurance cycling performance in well-trained cyclists. Seventeen well-trained competitive male road racing cyclists completed three peak power output tests (PPO) and three 40-km time trials (40-km TT) after familiarisation. Before each test all cyclists performed the LSCT as their warm-up method. Parameters associated with performance such as power, speed, cadence and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured during the three stages of the test when cyclists rode at workloads coinciding with fixed predetermined heart rates (60%, 80% and 90% of HRmax). Heart rate recovery (HRR) was measured after the final stage of the test. Parameters measured during the second and third stage of the LSCT were highly reliable (intraclass correlation range: R=0.85-1.00) and associated with low typical error of measurements (TEM range: 1.3%-4.4%). Good relationships were found between the LSCT and cycling performance measured by the PPO and 40-km TT tests. Mean power had stronger relationships with measures of cycling performance during the second (r=0.80-0.89) and third stage (r=0.91-0.94) of the LSCT than HRR (r=0.55-0.68). The LSCT is a reliable novel test which is able to predict peak and endurance cycling performance from submaximal power, RPE and HRR in well-trained cyclists. As these parameters are able to detect meaningful changes more accurately than VO2max, the LSCT has the potential to monitor cycling performance with more precision than other current existing submaximal cycle protocols.


To understand 2020's pandemic is to see virus as a language we can use By drawing on viral principles—viruses are infections through information, viruses can be understood only through percentages and exponentials, and viruses are zombies from outer space—the dynamics of our twenty-first-century virus crisis can be discerned, even influenced The crisis isn't just biological, it is about ideas and how they propagate through, for example, conspiracy theories and inflammatory actions Viral emotions are integral to what is happening, as attention to both the virus of fascism and fear-based reactions to COVID-19 make clear The opposite of fear, or perhaps the product of fear sometimes, is bravery Hope is beyond that Viruses spread because of their intrinsic properties and the relevant vectors, catalysts, growth mediums, and controls Our future will be shaped by a wide range of viruses We know it will be abnormal, but viruses will not act alone Much of nature, and thus human culture, is beyond the viral The key issue is control and just what mix of authoritarian control, self-control, and out-of-control (in both senses) we will end up living with


Machine reading comprehension helps machines learn to utilize most of the human knowledge written in the form of text. Existing approaches made a significant progress comparable to human-level performance, but they are still limited in understanding, up to a few paragraphs, failing to properly comprehend lengthy document. In this paper, we propose a novel deep neural network architecture to handle a long-range dependency in RC tasks. In detail, our method has two novel aspects: (1) an advanced memory-augmented architecture and (2) an expanded gated recurrent unit with dense connections that mitigate potential information distortion occurring in the memory. Our proposed architecture is widely applicable to other models. We have performed extensive experiments with well-known benchmark datasets such as TriviaQA, QUASAR-T, and SQuAD. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing methods, especially for lengthy documents.


Colorectal cancer killed 51,651 people in the United States in 2014, despite this type of cancer being almost completely preventable and, if diagnosed in early stages, highly treatable. Colorectal cancer screening is recommended for all people 50-75 years of age at specified intervals depending on the type of screening used, as well as the screening results. However, only 58.2% of people in the United States had received appropriate screening based on their age, past screening participation, and the results of past screenings in 2013. Although patients have many barriers pertaining to uptake of colorectal cancer screening, most often cited is lack of knowledge and lack of provider recommendation. Population-based interventions are cost-effective ways of increasing the knowledge of the general public. Offering colorectal screening methods other than colonoscopy increases colorectal screening recommendation adherence. Despite these interventions, the importance of the patient-provider discussion is widely cited in the literature as a critical factor in decreasing barriers to screening and providing individualized screening recommendations with a high probability of uptake. Multiple missed opportunities exist every day within established primary care practices, and can be captured with provider-initiated discussion of colorectal cancer screening recommendations at every primary care patient encounter.


Confined poultry production, which is expected to double by 2050, produces a lot of litter. For successful and sustainable poultry production, litter management is prompted and should be prioritized. Poultry litter can serve as an energy feedstock for space heating and electricity generation. Currently, heating systems in use depend on electricity, charcoal or diesel which are very expensive leading to high energy costs in poultry production. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the potential of combustion of poultry litter for space heating in poultry production. A brazier with 32 holes, of a diameter of 1cm, on its sides comprising of dimensions; Diameter=8 cm and Height=65 cm was used to burn 1kg of Poultry Litter Briquettes. The briquettes were made with a mincer which had a nozzle of dimensions, Length=11 cm and Diameter= 25 mm producing briquettes of a diameter of 25 mm and a length of 10 cm. The briquettes were made from poultry litter of chickens at the ages of 4, 5 and 6 weeks, and were either sun or solar dried. They were then directly combusted in the brazier and heat distribution was measured at distances of 30 cm, 60 cm and 90 cm from the brazier. Charcoal was used as a control. The maximum average temperatures recorded on the surface of the brazier for week 4, 5, 6 were 471oC, 491oC, 493oC respectively; whereas for charcoal was 555oC. However, the poultry litter briquettes were not able to sustain high temperatures for long compared to charcoal. Complete combustion took an average of 120 minutes while charcoal took an average of 180 minutes.


BACKGROUND
Parkinson disease (PD) is a clinically well-documented neurodegenerative disorder. However, the mechanism or mechanisms of its phenotypic expressions are still unknown.

OBJECTIVE
To compare phenotypes by examining demographic and clinical features of patients with familial PD and sporadic PD and with or without a family history of PD.

DESIGN
Historical review of patients with sporadic PD in clinic-based samples and individual patients diagnosed with PD from families whose linkage to mutations or loci has been identified.

SETTING
Movement disorder clinic in a referral center.

PATIENTS
A total of 1277 patients with sporadic PD and 40 patients with familial PD.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Clinical features, including distribution by sex, initial motor symptom, location of initial motor symptom, and frequency of asymmetric motor symptoms.

RESULTS
Despite different etiologic backgrounds, both familial and sporadic PD exhibited several interesting commonalities, including a higher incidence in men, tremor as the initial motor symptom (predominantly involving the upper extremities), and asymmetric parkinsonism during disease course.

CONCLUSIONS
The increased incidence of parkinsonism in men with familial PD suggests that the sex disparity is more likely the result of a protective effect against development of PD in women than of an increased risk in men that is associated with environmental factors. Phenotypic similarity among familial and sporadic PD indicates that a similar topographic distribution of the nigrostriatal lesion exists in patients with either form of PD regardless of apparent genetic influence.


Production costs are the costs incurred to process raw materials into finished products that are ready for sale. Sales are income transactions in the form of goods or services sent by customers to get cash to respect the obligation to pay. This study aims to determine the effect of production and sales costs on the gross profit of PT. Perkebunan Nusantara IV Medan. the type of research used is quantitative, the data used is the company's income statement and cost of goods from 2017 to 2019. The data sources used are primary data and secondary data. Primary data is data that comes from original or first sources and secondary data is data that is already available so that it can search for and collect data. The data obtained were then analyzed using the classical assumption test, normality test, multicollinearity test, autocorrelation test, multiple linear regression, partial test, simultaneous test, and the R-square coefficient of determination test. The results of the study concluded that the production costs tcount> ttable (-3.859> 2.03452) and sig <0.05 (0.01 <0.05) so it can be concluded that production costs have a negative and significant effect on financial performance. Then H0 is accepted, Ha is rejected. For sales, the value of tcount> ttable (2.146> 2.03452) and sig <0.05 (0.01 <0.05) so it can be concluded that sales have a positive and significant effect on financial performance. Then H0 is accepted Ha is rejected.


In recent years, the progress in hardware technology has made it possible for organizations to store and record large streams of transactional data. This results in databases which grow without limit at a rapid rate. This data can often show important changes in trends over time. In such cases, it is useful to understand, visualize, and diagnose the evolution of these trends. In this paper, we introduce the concept of velocity density estimation, a technique used to understand, visualize, and determine trends in the evolution of fast data streams. We show how to use velocity density estimation in order to create both temporal velocity profiles and spatial velocity profiles at periodic instants in time. These profiles are then used in order to predict three kinds of data evolution: dissolution, coagulation, and shift. Methods are proposed to visualize the changing data trends in a single online scan of the data stream and a computational requirement which is linear in the number of data points. The visualization techniques can also be used to provide online animations which show the changes in the data characteristics while they occur. In addition, batch processing techniques are proposed in order to quantify the level of change across different combinations of dimensions. This quantification is then used in order to determine dimensional combinations with significant evolution. The techniques discussed in this paper can be easily extended to spatiotemporal data, changes in data snapshots at fixed instances in time, or any other data which has a temporal component during its evolution.


Increased use of agricultural chemicals with no-tillage (NT) may negatively impact the environment through chemical or nutrient loss in runoff or by leaching below the root zone. We compared environmental impacts of NT and the lower chemical input stubble mulch (SM) management methods for dryland crop production on a clay loam soil in a semiarid environment. We measured runoff volume and sediment, nutrient, and triazine concentrations in runoff for 9 yr from seven field-sized watersheds (2-5 ha each) cropped in a dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]-fallow sequence with SM or NT management with no N or P fertilizer added. We analyzed soil cores to a 6-m depth for NO 3 - -N and to a 3-m depth for atrazine and propazine content. Adoption of NT management reduced sediment loss by 54% compared with SM, although annual runoff was 15 mm yr -1 greater from NT. Nutrient concentrations and losses (NO 3 - -N, NH 4 + -N, TN, soluble P, biologically available P, PT) in runoff were extremely small from both tillage systems (losses <3 kg N and <1 kg P ha -1 yr -1 ) on these unfertilized watersheds. Atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N'-(1methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine] did not accumulate in the soil or leach below the root zone. Maximal losses of atrazine and propazine in runoff were 0.26 and 1.5% of total application, respectively. Propazine [6-chloro-N,N'-bis(1-methylethyl]-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], applied to both NT and SM sorghum when runoff is probable, appears to have a greater potential for negatively impacting the environment under semiarid conditions than does atrazine, which is applied when runoff probability is small. Propazine accumulated in the soil profile but was undetected below 0.6 m. Perhaps the most detrimental impact of adopting NT management was increased leaching of NO 3 - -N to depths below the plant root zone as a result of wetter soil and improved water conservation with NT in the semiarid environment


Cosmic-ray electrons and positrons propagating in the Galaxy produce diffuse gamma-rays via the inverse Compton (IC) process. The low energy target photon populations with which the cosmic-rays interact during propagation are produced by stars, this stellar light being reprocessed by Galactic dust. Detailed modelling of the Galactic stellar distribution, dust distribution, and treatment of the absorption and scattering of light is therefore required to obtain accurate models for the low energy Galactic photon distribution and spectrum. Using a realistic Galactic stellar distribution model, and dust distribution, we calculate the diffuse radiation field from stars in the Galaxy (the `optical' radiation field), including absorption and scattering. Using a dust heating code, we self-consistently calculate the infra-red radiation field for the same dust model used for the optical calculation; both transient and equilibrium heating are included. We present the calculated radiation field spectra and distributions, and will use these to calculate the expected Galactic diffuse IC gamma-ray spectrum.


This study tests the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) for measuring the cost of equity capital. It analysis the heteroscedasticity problem in all insurance companies listed on the Saudi stock exchange during the period between 02/01/2010 to 13/11/2013. We conclude that there is the ARCH effect in the residue of CAPM to all the companies studied; which the CAPM model indicates is not qualified to estimate the cost of equity capital, especially during the period of higher volatility, and as such requires reliance on models (CAPM-GARCH) to estimate the cost of capital.


Abstract. Processing of multitemporal satellite images generally suffers from uncertainties caused by differences in illumination and observation angles, as well as variation in atmospheric conditions. Moreover, satellite images acquired from different sensors contain not only the uncertainties but also disparate relative spectral response. Given that radiometric calibration and correction of satellite images are difficult without ground measurements during data acquisition, this study addresses pseudoinvariant feature selection for relative radiometric normalization (RRN) that minimizes the radiometric differences among images caused by atmospheric and spectral band inconsistencies during data acquisition. The key to a successful RRN is the selection of pseudoinvariant features (PIFs) among bitemporal images. To select PIFs, multivariate alteration detection (MAD) algorithm is adopted with kernel canonical correlation analysis (KCCA) instead of canonical correlation analysis (CCA). KCCA, which assumes that the relation between at-sensor radiance is spatially nonlinear, can obtain more appropriate PIFs for cross-sensor images than that of CCA, which assumes that the relation between the at-sensor radiances of bitemporal image is spatially linear. In addition, a regularization term is added to the optimization of KCCA to avoid trivial solutions and overfitting. Qualitative and quantitative analyses on bitemporal images acquired by Landsat-7 enhanced thematic mapper plus and Landsat-8 operational and imager sensors were conducted to evaluate the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed KCCA-based MAD to the CCA-based MAD in terms of PIF selection, particularly for images containing significant cloud covers.


The requirement for wide operation range of steam turbine can cause, that the blades work close to resonant frequency. For decreasing of blade's vibration there are placed damping elements in the blade shroud. These elements are calculated for dissipation of the vibration energy. The analytical method of blade and bladed disk modal analysis is introduced. The method enables to include blades both with and without damping elements in shroud. The mathematical model of the bladed disk is prepared for including damping effects in contact planes.


Three weaves (plain, twill 1/3 and satin 8/3) of hybrid kevlar/PTFE fabric composites were selected for investigating the influence of weaves on the tribological properties. Pin-on-flat linear reciprocating wear studies were done on the three kinds of composites on a CETR Tester under pressure 20 MPa and frequency 13 Hz. The relationship between the tensile strength and the tribolog- ical performance of fabric composites was also examined. It was observed that though the friction coefficient of satin 8/3 was the lowest, the specific wear rate was also the highest. Plain weave, however, performed worse in friction-reduction while resulting best in antiwear performance. The tensile strength does not have an influence on the wear performance. So the different tribological performance of the three weaves of fabric composites may attribute to the different PTFE proportion in the fabric surface and adhesive wear. A model of wear process of fabric composites was proposed and supported by the Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) studies.


The strip wound die for cold forging operation is prestressed by the thin high-strength steel strips, which is characterized by the strength that is twice or more than that of the conventional compound die, as well as the achievement of even higher stiffness. In this paper, a special strip winding machine is designed and developed to manufacture the prestressed strip wound die. The structure and function of this machine is described in detail. FEM study on the frame of the machine is carried out to prove the feasibility of the design. The total tension will be determined by the constant tension which is equal to the friction force generated by the clamping device, and the variable tension which is generated by the AC servo motor in the uncoiler device. Controlling strategy and the framework of tension controlling system are also presented.


Abstract We prove existence and uniqueness for the solution of a class of mixed fractional stochastic differential equations with discontinuous drift driven by both standard and fractional Brownian motion. Additionally, we establish a generalized Itô rule valid for functions with an absolutely continuous derivative and applicable to solutions of mixed fractional stochastic differential equations with Lipschitz coefficients, which plays a key role in our proof of existence and uniqueness. The proof of such a formula is new and relies on showing the existence of a density of the law under mild assumptions on the diffusion coefficient.


A 120-days trial with three dietary protein levels (30, 40 and 50%, respectively) and two dietary lipid concentrations (6 and 12%, respectively) was conducted to investigate the optimum dietary protein and lipid level for the growth, feed efficiency and survival rate of bay snook fingerlings, P. splendida (0.18±0.05 g initial body weight). A 2x3 factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replicates was used. Whole body amino acids and fatty acids analyses were carried out for each diet and calculated growth performance, fed efficiency and survival rate. The results showed a higher survival rate. Final Body Weight (FBW), Feed Efficiency (FE), Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) and condition factor (K) was significantly affected by dietary protein level (p<0.05) and FBW, SGR, PER and K were significantly affected by dietary lipids levels (p<0.05). The amino acid composition in diets and whole body was similar and Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA) showed a similar trend; the Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) indicated that 30/12 and 50/12 diets presented high values in whole body, whereas monoenes presented a dissimilar pattern. The best growth was observed with 50/12 diets where the lipid source was corn oil.


At a single university health service within an endemic area, 172 cases of coccidioidomycosis were retrospectively identified by fungal cultures, serologic studies, or intercurrent skin test conversions. The average annual incidence of symptomatic infection was 0.43% for susceptible students. Peak case rates occurred in November and June (11 cases/10,000 clinic visits) and were 1.5 to 6 times greater than in other months. Although mononucleosis was diagnosed approximately twice as frequently as coccidioidomycosis, coccidioidal infections required 74% more visits per patient and over 3 times longer clinical supervision than did mononucleosis. Although only 2 patients disseminated, diagnosis and management of patients with coccidioidomycosis constituted more than 2% of our clinic's visits, for an estimated annual cost of more than $34,000. Because our patient population is young and otherwise healthy, our estimates of the impact of primary coccidioidal infection may underestimate that on civilian public health as a whole.


The rate of incorporation of [2-14C]acetate into cholesterol has been measured in freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes from patients on various hypolipidemic drugs that affect whole body cholesterol synthesis. These studies have demonstrated a significant two-fold increase in mononuclear cell cholesterol synthesis rates in patients receiving cholestyramine, a response measurable after 10 days of drug treatment. Mononuclear cell cholesterol synthesis rates were also measured in four groups of patients on the following drug regimens: 1) no medication, 2) clofibrate (2 g/day), 3) cholestyramine (16 g/day) or 4) both clofibrate and cholestyramine. The results demonstrated that the rate of acetate incorporation into cholesterol was significantly greater in the mononuclear cells from patients receiving either cholestyramine (P less than 0.005) or clofibrate plus cholestyramine (P less 0.001), as compared to controls. Patients receiving clofibrate alone did not differ significantly from controls in their rates of mononuclear cell cholesterol synthesis. Factors other than plasma lipoprotein and lipid levels appeared to be responsible for the elevated sterol synthesis rates observed in all patients receiving cholestyramine.


Tropospheric ozone (O3) is the third most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas. O3 is detrimental to plant productivity, and it has a significant impact on crop yield. Currently, the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model includes a representation of global crops (JULES-crop) but does not have crop-specific O3 damage parameters and applies default C3 grass O3 parameters for soybean that underestimate O3 damage. Physiological parameters for O3 damage in soybean in JULEScrop were calibrated against leaf gas-exchange measurements from the Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment (SoyFACE) with O3 experiment in Illinois, USA. Other plant parameters were calibrated using an extensive array of soybean observations such as crop height and leaf carbon and meteorological data from FLUXNET sites near Mead, Nebraska, USA. The yield, aboveground carbon, and leaf area index (LAI) of soybean from the SoyFACE experiment were used to evaluate the newly calibrated parameters. The result shows good performance for yield, with the modelled yield being within the spread of the SoyFACE observations. Although JULES-crop is able to reproduce observed LAI seasonality, its magnitude is underestimated. The newly calibrated version of JULES will be applied regionally and globally in future JULES simulations. This study helps to build a state-of-the-art impact assessment model and contribute to a more complete understanding of the impacts of climate change on food production.


Spatial science courses that are Remote Sensing (RS) and
Geographic Information System (GIS) are increasingly growing into extremely
important disciplines that accommodate various applications in wider sectors of
development. Effective teaching and learning of the courses, however, requires
intensive investment in facilities and human resources, since the technology is
sophisticated and growing fast. This study aims at exploring the challenges of
teaching and learning spatial science courses, RS and GIS, particularly in
public universities in Tanzania. The study also identifies possible
opportunities to improve the situation. Using social survey techniques in data
gathering and analysis and author's own experience, lack of resources, poor
background to the courses, delivery methods, limited number of staff and large
classes were seen to be the major obstacles in successful learning and
teaching. Opportunities exist in using open source resources, collaboration
with other institutions within and outside the country and for the universities
to give due weight to the courses by building capacity of their staff and
procuring facilities, especially laboratories equipments.


Today, ongoing discussions on climate change, depletion of fossil fuels and energy efficiency emphasize the need for a more sustainable built environment and thus the need to reduce energy consumption in buildings and urban textures and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore the evaluation of building energy performance with a holistic approach, taking the effect of urban textures and microclimates into consideration has become very significant in the recent years. Urban texture is a commonly accepted expression including the form and height of buildings, the width of streets, their orientation, spatial configuration and arrangement in space intersection, vegetation and so on. This study aims to develop and suggest a model which allows the evaluation of the level of effects of the design parameters which should be considered at the scale of urban textures, on the energy performance of buildings to design sustainable, energy efficient built environments. In the first stage energy performance of a reference building modeled in different urban texture alternatives was evaluated. The evaluations are performed through DesignBuilder simulation program for the location of İstanbul representing temperate-humid climatic region. The parameters of aspect ratio (H/W) and orientation were used to develop different urban texture alternatives. In the second stage, analyses of outdoor thermal comfort of the existing condition and the condition with the added effect of vegetation for the alternatives with the lowest overall energy consumption were conducted with the ENVI-Met program. The thermal comfort parameters of air temperature, mean radiant temperature, wind speed and physiological equivalent temperature (PET) index were used to evaluate outdoor thermal comfort in streets. As a result, the urban texture alternative which achieved the optimum result for energy performance and with regard to outdoor thermal comfort was determined.


Regulation of primary metabolism is a central mechanism by which plants coordinate their various responses to biotic and abiotic challenge. To identify genes responsible for natural variation in primary metabolism, we focused on cloning a locus from Arabidopsis thaliana that influences the level of TCA cycle metabolites in planta. We found that the Met.V.67 locus was controlled by natural variation in METABOLIC NETWORK MODULATOR 1 (MNM1), which encoded an AT-hook motif-containing protein that was unique to the Brassicales lineage. MNM1 had wide ranging effects on plant metabolism and displayed a tissue expression pattern that was suggestive of a function in sink tissues. Natural variation within MNM1 had differential effects during a diurnal time course, and this temporal dependency was supported by analysis of T-DNA insertion and over-expression lines for MNM1. Thus, the cloning of a natural variation locus specifically associated with primary metabolism allowed us to identify MNM1 as a lineage-specific modulator of primary metabolism, suggesting that the regulation of primary metabolism can change during evolution.


Summary 1. To encourage more project assessment and reporting of restoration outcomes, Palmer et al . (2005) propose five criteria for assessing the ecological success of river restoration. They also suggest that these criteria should help to clarify which activities should qualify for ecological restoration funding and facilitate consistency about what constitutes an ecologically successful restoration project. 2. We critique the five criteria and agree they all merit inclusion in an assessment of successful river restoration. However, the practical application of measuring selfsustainability (resilience) following restoration is potentially problematic and an explicit timeframe is needed to evaluate the results of the restoration. 3. A sixth criterion is proposed that encourages specific hypotheses and/or a conceptual model of the ecological mechanisms by which the proposed activities will achieve their target. This would enhance our understanding of the mechanisms at play for successful river restoration, and provide a more powerful deductive framework likely to lead to appropriate practices that can be applied across rivers. To explore the potential practical applicability of these six criteria, we applied them to a recently published example of river restoration to ascertain its ecological success. 4. Synthesis and applications . We agree with the criteria proposed by Palmer et al . (2005), although the problems of measuring resilience and defining a timeline for recovery should be addressed. We suggest strengthening the deductive framework of restoration projects by formulating some sort of conceptual model. This step could involve scientists, and be a useful way of involving science more explicitly in restoration activities. Agreed-upon criteria for successful restoration will greatly facilitate evaluation of river ecosystem recovery at the critical broader scales where our knowledge is still limited.


Objective: To investigate the quality of life (QoL) and depression and its correlates in carers living with early onset dementia (EOD) patients. Method: The subjects were 49 carers, either married to or cohabiting with EOD patients, 38 with Alzheimer's disease and 11 with other types of dementia. The Quality of Life – Alzheimer Disease scale (QoL-AD) and Geriatric Depression Scale – 15 items (GDS-15) were used. Results: The mean QoL score for the carers was 37.9 (SD 5.5) and the mean GDS-15 score 5.1 (SD 2.9). Linear regression analyses with QoL and GDS-15 score as dependent variables were performed. Increased age of the carer (B = 0.32) and greater insight of the patients (B = −0.186) were significantly associated with a better QoL for the carer. Being married (B = 2.10), having children together with the patient (B = 1.61) and being the carer of a patient with cardiovascular disease (B = 2.28) were associated significantly with a higher GDS-15 score, whereas being the carer of a patient who received domiciliary nursing care (B = −2.29) was significantly associated with a lower GDS-15 score. Conclusion: The QoL for carers of EOD patients corresponds positively with the increased age of carers and with patients' insight into their condition. Increased depressive symptomatology in carers was associated with being married, having offspring and caring for a patient with dementia and a co-morbid cardiovascular disease. A reduction in depression was seen in carers when the patients received domiciliary nursing care.


Greater environmental protections and increased public safety are often believed to be synonymous, or at least to go hand-in-hand. Sometimes, however, those two goals are arguably in tension; for example, when the excess application of salt for winter deicing, in combination with other chloride sources, causes elevated chloride concentrations in waterways. Sodium chloride, commonly known as salt, has often played a critical role in human culture, trade, religion, economics, public safety, and even warfare. But it has a complicated legacy that includes potentially serious adverse consequences for human health and the environment, including deteriorated water quality, toxicity to aquatic and benthic organisms, adverse effects on vegetation, and impacts to drinking water supplies. Moreover, environmental chloride concentrations are on the rise, having approximately doubled over the past two decades. Hundreds of scientific studies have examined potential risks to human health and the environment associated with excess chlorides in the environment, especially those sourced from deicing operations. Yet little, if any, of that work has been directed toward developing legal and policy strategies to address the chloride issue.
This interdisciplinary paper examines the underlying causes of unsustainable chloride pollution from a scientific and engineering perspective, and then proposes a menu of responsive legal and policy options. These options include incentivized self-governance at the community or individual levels; informational strategies to encourage optimal chloride use levels for deicing and in water softening applications; direct legal and regulatory mechanisms or mandated best practices issued pursuant to the Clean Water Act, state regulations, or municipal ordinances; use of chloride alternatives such as green infrastructure and substitute deicing substances; integrated watershed management; and direct economic measures. The paper does not suggest that all these options are appropriate in every context, nor does it rank them from most to least useful. Those decisions are left to affected stakeholders.


Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations is widely recommended as part of a risk-reduction strategy for ovarian or breast cancer due to an underlying genetic predisposition. BSO is also performed as a therapeutic intervention for patients with hormone-positive premenopausal breast cancer. BSO may be performed via a minimally invasive approach with the use of three to four 5 mm and/or 12 mm ports inserted through a skin incision. To further reduce the morbidity associated with the placement of multiple port sites and to improve cosmetic outcomes, single-port laparoscopy has been developed with a single access point from the umbilicus. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the surgical outcomes associated with reducing the risks of salpingo-oophorectomy performed in a single port, while comparing multiport laparoscopy in women with a high risk for ovarian cancer. Single-port laparoscopy–BSO is feasible and safe, with favorable surgical and cosmetic outcomes when compared to conventional laparoscopy.


The quantitative estimation of migration ability of transformed fibroblast-like cells of various epecies (mouse , rat, hamster, man) cultured on the substratum with grooves of various depth (5--40 mcm) was performed. Of the majority of 11 cell lines examined, a reduced migration capacity up to its total disappeanance was registered as compared with the homological normal embryonic cells. A more pronounced reduction of migration ability was shown in mouse and rat transformed cells and less in human ones. Migration of transformed hamster cells was just equal to the weak migrtion of normal hamster embryonis cells. These data shown a weak response of the analysed transformed cells to the relief of underlying substratum.


The in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of sulopenem (CP-70,429),a new parenteral penem antibiotic, were compared with those of imipenem (IPM), flomoxef, cefuzonam (CZON) and cefotaxime. Sulopenem possessed broad-spectrum activities against Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria. Antibacterial activities of sulopenem against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus pneumoniae were equivalent to or somewhat superior to those of IPM. Against members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, sulopenem was 4- to 260-fold more active than reference antibiotics with broad-spectra. In a killing kinetics study for Haemophilus influenzae, sulopenem showed a 99.9% decrease of viable cells after 8 hours at a concentration of 0.20 micrograms/ml. This effect was obtained at a concentration 8-fold lower than that of IPM. The protective effects of sulopenem in murine experimental systemic infections were superior to those of imipenem/cilastatin. In murine experimental mixed infection with Escherichia coli and Bacteroides fragilis, sulopenem had lower ED50, in other words stronger antimicrobial activities than IPM. The therapeutic effect of sulopenem are related well with its MIC value. In guinea pigs experimental lung infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae, sulopenem was more effective than CZON or cefotiam.


THE mathematical theory of longitudinal stability appears to have been adequate to explain the salient features of the behaviour of aeroplanes in longitudinal motion. In general the provision of a stable slope to the static pitching moment curve has been found in practice to fulfil all requirements, and although increasing oscillations do on occasion occur, they are on the whole surprisingly rare. The reasons for this are fairly well recognised and are briefly indicated in what follows. There is little doubt, however, that the designers' principal difficulties centre round the complex interferences between the wings and the tailplane, particularly with the air‐screw running. The downwash from the centre section in many machines, even with no engine on, is quite unpredictable in the present state of knowledge, and the calculation of the downwash due to the slipstream has not yet been successfully made even in the simplest cases. Some attempt is here made to summarise the present position.


Given a set of locations in a city, on which ones should we place ads on so as to reach as many people as possible within a limited budget? Past research has addressed this question under the assumption that dense trajectory data are available to determine the reach of each ad. However, the data that are available in most industrial settings do not consist of dense, long-range trajectories; instead, they consist of statistics on people's short-range point-to-point movements. In this paper, we address the natural problem that arises such data: given a distribution of population and point-to-point movement statistics over a network, find a set of locations within a budget that achieves maximum expected reach. We call this problem geodemographic influence maximization (GIM). We show that the problem is NP-hard, but its objective function is monotone and submodular, thus admits a greedy algorithm with a 1 over 2 (1-1 over e) approximation ratio. Still, this algorithm is inapplicable on large-scale data for high-frequency digital signage ads. We develop an efficient deterministic algorithm, Lazy-Sower, exploiting a novel, tight double-bounding scheme of marginal influence gain as well as the locality proprieties of the problem; a learning-based variant, NN-Sower, utilizes randomization and deep learning to further improve efficiency, with a slight loss of quality. Our exhaustive experimental study on two real-world urban datasets demonstrates the efficacy and efficiency of our solutions compared to baselines.


Silicon magnetic sensors based on the Hall effect have proven to be an excellent sensor choice for many applications, such as position sensing, gear-tooth sensing, contact-less switching and linear sensing. Although a sensor can be trimmed over temperature before it is shipped to the customer, little can be done about the sensitivity's stability once the sensor has been installed in its final application.
The goal of this project is to propose and implement mechanisms to stabilize the Hall sensor's sensitivity through the use of mechanical stress feedback and magnetic feedback.


In this study, we present for the first time the immobilization of phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40, HPW) into the nanocages of a dual amino-functionalized ionic liquid (DAIL)-modified MIL-101(Cr) framework under mild conditions. The obtained PW/DAIL/MIL-101(Cr) was evaluated as a catalyst in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol using TBHP in chloroform. In order to obtain insights into the role of the DAIL during catalysis, a DAIL-free catalyst (HPW/MIL-101(Cr)) was also prepared. Both catalysts were fully characterized using several techniques. In comparison with the HPW/MIL-101(Cr) material, PW/DAIL/MIL-101(Cr) showed an enhanced catalytic performance in the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol. This was mainly attributed to the ability of the DAIL groups to form hydrogen bonds, thus enhancing the accessibility of TBHP. Furthermore, the immobilization of the DAIL groups onto MIL-101(Cr) resulted in increased thermal stability of the obtained PW/DAIL/MIL-101(Cr) which showed stability up to 400 °C. Moreover, the PW/DAIL/MIL-101(Cr) catalyst exhibited good recyclability and selectivity. The catalyst could be reused for at least five cycles with no significant leaching of the tungsten species or loss of crystallinity and activity.


Abstract Sudden out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest is the third leading cause of death in industrialized nations. Many of these lives could be saved if bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation rates were better. "All citizens of the world can save a life—CHECK—CALL—COMPRESS." With these words, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation launched the 2019 global "World Restart a Heart" initiative to increase public awareness and improve the rates of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and overall survival for millions of victims of cardiac arrest globally. All participating organizations were asked to train and to report the numbers of people trained and reached. Overall, social media impact and awareness reached up to 206 million people, and >5.4 million people were trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation worldwide in 2019. Tool kits and information packs were circulated to 194 countries worldwide. Our simple and unified global message, "CHECK—CALL—COMPRESS," will save hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide and will further enable many policy makers around the world to take immediate and sustainable action in this most important healthcare issue and initiative.


Abstract The Algae Society BioArt Design Lab is a global collective of interdisciplinary researchers working together with algae as nonhuman international research partners. As a collaborative group of artists, scientists, and scholars, they experiment and coproduce with algae, seeking to highlight complex human interdependence and kinship with algal beings. Here the founding members introduce the Algae Society and share a collective collage of their evolving artistic works while reflecting on each researcher's process, materiality, and aesthetic considerations. With these works, they endeavor to shift our perspectives from human-centric exceptionalism to greater appreciation and cultural reframing of our responsibility as participants in multispecies worlding.


Early during the formation and growth of a primary epithelial tumor, cells disseminate through the bloodstream to distant organs. These circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be enriched and detected via different technologies and CTC analyses are considered as a real-time "liquid biopsy" in cancer patients. This biopsy allows the characterization of specific sub-populations of CTCs and may revolutionize cancer detection and management. This editorial highlights the current strategies used for enrichment and detection of CTCs.


The mechanical effects of a parabolic tendon can be modeled replacing the tendon by external loads applied to the concrete. The intensity of these loads depends on the prestressing force P and curvature of the tendons. These two factors are also interrelated because the losses of prestress vary with the curvature. The structural analysis can be simplified by approximating that the line load against the tendon, able to maintain the initial parabolic form of the tendon and called equivalent load, is constant, perpendicular to the centroidal axis of the beam and equal to P/R where R is the radius of curvature of the parabola at its vertex. This approximation is one of the key issues in the textbooks but normally not properly justified. In this paper, the mathematical background for the approximation is formulated. Some typical tendon layouts are analyzed to evaluate the approximation error. The error proved to be insignificant for simple beams. For cantilever and continuous beams more accurate methods in the final design are recommended.


A hallmark of biofilms is their heightened resistance to antimicrobial agents. Recent findings suggested a role for bis-(3′-5′)-cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) in the susceptibility of bacteria to antimicrobial agents; however, no c-di-GMP modulating enzyme(s) contributing to the drug tolerance phenotype of biofilms has been identified. ABSTRACT A hallmark of biofilms is their heightened resistance to antimicrobial agents. Recent findings suggested a role for bis-(3′-5′)-cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) in the susceptibility of bacteria to antimicrobial agents; however, no c-di-GMP modulating enzyme(s) contributing to the drug tolerance phenotype of biofilms has been identified. The goal of this study was to determine whether c-di-GMP modulating enzyme(s) specifically contributes to the biofilm drug tolerance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using transcriptome sequencing combined with biofilm susceptibility assays, we identified PA3177 encoding a probable diguanylate cyclase. PA3177 was confirmed to be an active diguanylate cyclase, with overexpression affecting swimming and swarming motility, and inactivation affecting cellular c-di-GMP levels of biofilm but not planktonic cells. Inactivation of PA3177 rendered P. aeruginosa PAO1 biofilms susceptible to tobramycin and hydrogen peroxide. Inactivation of PA3177 also eliminated the recalcitrance of biofilms to killing by tobramycin, with multicopy expression of PA3177 but not PA3177_GGAAF harboring substitutions in the active site, restoring tolerance to wild-type levels. Susceptibility was linked to BrlR, a previously described transcriptional regulator contributing to biofilm tolerance, with inactivation of PA3177 negatively impacting BrlR levels and BrlR-DNA binding. While PA3177 contributed to biofilm drug tolerance, inactivation of PA3177 had no effect on attachment and biofilm formation. Our findings demonstrate for the first time that biofilm drug tolerance by P. aeruginosa is linked to a specific c-di-GMP modulating enzyme, PA3177, with the pool of PA3177-generated c-di-GMP only contributing to biofilm drug tolerance but not to biofilm formation.


Introduction A variety of biomarkers are considered for diagnosis (e.g., β2-microgobulin, albumin, or LDH) and prognosis [e.g., cytogenetic aberrations detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)] of multiple myeloma (MM). More recently, clonal evolution has been established as key. Little is known on the clinical implications of clonal evolution. Methods We performed in-depth analyses of 25 patients with newly diagnosed MM with respect to detailed clinical information analyzing blood samples collected at several time points during follow-up (median follow-up: 3.26 years since first diagnosis). We split our cohort into two subgroups: with and without new FISH clones developing in the course of disease. Results Each subgroup showed a characteristic chromosomal profile. Forty-three percent of patients had evidence of appearing new clones. The patients with new clones showed an increased number of translocations affecting chromosomes 14 (78% vs. 33%; p = 0.0805) and 11, and alterations in chromosome 4 (amplifications and translocations). New clones, on the contrary, were characterized by alterations affecting chromosome 17. Subsequent to the development of the new clone, 6 out of 9 patients experienced disease progression compared to 3 out of 12 for patients without new clones. Duration of the therapy applied for the longest time was significantly shorter within the group of patients developing new clones (median: 273 vs. 406.5 days; p = 0.0465). Discussion We demonstrated that the development of new clones, carrying large-scale alterations, was associated with inferior disease course and shorter response to therapy, possibly affecting progression-free survival and overall survival as well. Further studies evaluating larger cohorts are necessary for the validation of our results.


We present a general strategy for the selection of bacterial clones that express DNA-binding activities corresponding to particular DNA recognition sites. The selection uses a "challenge phage" vector, P22 Kn9 arc-amH1605, into which is substituted a synthetic DNA-binding site for a site that controls transcription of the P22 antirepressor (ant) gene. Constitutive synthesis of antirepressor channels a challenge phage into lytic development and efficiently kills an infected host, unless the substituted site is bound by a specific protein; in this case, the challenge phage prefers lysogenic development, and the host survives and acquires an antibiotic-resistance phenotype. Infections with challenge phages carrying the E. coli Lac operator, phage lambda OL1 operator, or synthetic, "idealized" E. coli Trp and Tn10 Tet operators select clones that express each of the corresponding binding activities. The use of challenge phage vectors may be extended to select clones that express eukaryotic DNA-binding activities.


Tonsil surgery has been described for over 3000 years. Haemorrhage following tonsillectomy remains the most serious complication of surgery. Over recent years several audits have been gathering data on current trends in tonsil surgery and clinical outcomes throughout England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The results support a return to traditional dissection with ties to reduce the risk of post-operative haemorrhage. We describe the changes that have occurred to improve efficacy and safety during the evolution of the modern tonsillectomy.